Frantic
by Cougar Draven
Summary: What happens when you lose it all?
1. Disclaimer

Ok, this is a notice to everyone. This is the first chapter of Frantic. Chapter Two has the song, Chapter Three does not. It seems some people prefer it one way or the other. Try both, tell me which way you like it.  
  
-Cougar Draven, Tha Angel of Darkness 


	2. With Song

**Frantic  
  
Ok, here we go again. I actually wrote this, oh, about three weeks ago, and yet, somehow, I managed to wait until now to update it. I thought this was kinda funny when I reread it, so why don't I submit it here, and hope I get reviews. And, as a side-note, I am sick to death of Shinobu/Keitaro fics! Please, get a fuckin' life!**  
  
Keitaro crested the hill, and looked down at the ground at the bottom of the cliff, 100 metres below. It would be a long fall, true, but he could never fall. He was fine. Pity, it was. He never saw it coming. A truck had lost control, and the driver bailed out, unknowingly sending Keitaro careening over the edge of the cliffside with him. Keitaro hit the ground several seconds later, and blacked out.  
  
_Frantic_  
_by Metallica_  
  
Keitaro opened his eyes to see himself, aged 20, on a screen in front of him. *I never expected the life-flashing-in-front-of-me part to be this literal*, he thought as the lights dimmed, and the screen rolled.  
  
_If I could have my wasted days back_  
_Would I use them to get back on track?_  
  
He heard a voice say it would be a short movie, and another say that even though it was short, they hated repeats, especialy when they only added a few days in between each screening. Keitaro was confused as the first scene played. He was at Hinata, he recognized it immediately, but he was a little kid, about five.  
  
_Stop to warm at karmas burning_  
_Or look ahead, but keep on turning?_  
  
He saw himself playing in a sandbox. *I know this scene, but it was all so blurry! Now it's clear, now that I'm dead.*  
  
_Do I have the strength_  
_To know how I'll go?_  
  
He saw many things, even though the movie was rather slowish in it's consistency to time. *Maybe Kitsune put it together when she was drunk.*  
  
_Can I find it inside_  
_To deal with what I shouldn't know?_  
  
He saw things he would have loved to have known. He saw people's thoughts, what they would have done about him. He was amazed...things he would have loved to have known about people.  
  
_Could I have my wasted days back_  
_Would I use them to get back on track?_  
  
He almost wanted to tell everyone the way he felt, but he just couldn't, because none of them were wherever he was.  
  
_You live it or lie it!_  
  
*Brilliant, Keitaro! You went and got yourself killed, and now you can't say good-bye to anybody!*  
  
_My lifestyle determines my deathstyle_  
  
He had to laugh, though. He really was a clumsy idiot, so it made sense that he would die in a freak accident.  
  
_Keep searching, keep on searching_  
_This search goes on, this search goes on_  
  
*I guess I'll just have to forget everything that happened.*  
  
_Frantic tick tick tick tick tick tick tock_  
_Frantic tick tick tick tick tick tick tock_  
  
The movie reached his high school years, and he saw things he wanted to remember, like his finding out he had graduated, and screaming "I AM A LUCKY BASTARD!!!". That kind of stuff was okay to remember, he guessed.  
  
_I've worn out always being afraid_  
_An endless stream of fear that I've made_  
  
Then it got to Hinata. Amazingly enough, he even saw certain things about the girls there.  
  
_Treading water full of worry_  
_This frantic tick tick talk of hurry_  
  
Every time Naru punched him into the stratosphere, he heard her thought of *Why does he always do this?*  
  
_Do I have the strength_  
_To know how I'll go?_  
  
He wished again that he could tell her he was sorry, but then he heard it.  
  
_Can I find it inside_  
_To deal with what I shouldn't know_  
  
The movie had reached his death, and he saw Naru sobbing over his body. He heard her thoughts...all of them.  
  
_Worn out always being afraid_  
_An endless stream of fear that I've made_  
  
He had already found his promise girl, he had thought, in Mutsumi. True, he had made the promise to Mutsumi, but now...now, it seemed different.  
  
_You live it or lie it!_  
  
He smacked himself yet again, for forgetting that he was mortal. There are some things he shouldn't have overlooked.  
  
_Keep searching, keep on searching_  
_This search goes on, this search goes on_  
  
The movie finished, and everyone stood up. Everyone, that is, except Keitaro. He stayed eated, not wanting to leave his life.  
  
_My lifestyle determines my deathstyle_  
  
One of the others in the theater, the leader, Keitaro thought, came over and told him to get up. "Come on, kid, it's time to go." Keitaro answered simply, with one word. One word, however, can change men's lives. "No."  
  
_Frantic tick tick tick tick tick tick tock_  
_Frantic tick tick tick tick tick tick tock_  
  
"No? Hahaha, kid, you don't make the decisions around here. I do. You can't tell me no. You've been injured before, but this is the first time you've ever gotten this far, so there is no turning back now." Keitaro thought about what the man had said, and answered him with a challenge. "I don't want to die, not now. It can't be my time. If it were my time, Naru wouldn't want me to die. You saw her. You must know how she feels. You can't let me die. If not for me, do it for her."  
  
"Kid, I can't bring you back. I want to, but I can't. You died. Let it be."  
  
"Dammit, who the hell do you think you are? I can't die yet! There is so much I have to do! So many people who I have to let know how I feel. Naru! Look at her! You must know what will happen to her!"  
  
The man nodded, for he had seen the girl known as Narusegawa slit her wrists. She didn't die, but was locked away, forever a patient of a mental ward. The man felt something he had never felt before, and realized it was pity. He pitied this poor kid for being so damned unlucky that he should die because of someone else's stupidity and bad driving. He looked at Keitaro's angered face, and made a decision.  
  
_My lifestyle (Birth is pain)_  
_Determines by deathstyle (Life is pain)_  
  
The man, the angel of darkness, laughed. Keitaro blinked once and blacked out. The last thing he heard was, "It's too damn bad he'll never remember. He made me think, and he should be able to remember his courage. But, he can't, except for one thing. That's all I can do."  
  
_A rising tide (Death is pain)_  
_That pushes to the other side (It's all the same)_  
  
Keitaro woke up in a hospital bed. He sat up quickly and felt soft hands on his chest, pushing him back down.  
  
"You can't sit up yet. You're still hurt."  
  
Keitaro looked at the owner of the hands, and was slightly shocked to see Naru sitting next to him. The two stared at each other for a minute, until Keitaro heard a oice in the back of her head. All he heard was a gruff voice saying something simple: *Kid, tell her how you feel.*  
  
"Naru...I..."  
  
Narusegawa cut him off with a hug that almost rebroke his back. She stayed with him, for several hours, just talking, about things they had said, and things they hadn't. When Keitaro fell asleep that night, he was sporting a big smile, and a lipstick stain on his cheek. The angel of darkness, Cougar Draven, laughed.  
  
"I knew that kid had it in him. I hope I never have to see him again. 


	3. WO Song

**Frantic  
  
Ok, this is Frantic, but you may have noticed it is a little different from the first part. This is without the song. Some people preferred it that way, and so therefore I redid it. It may look a little scratchy, but I don't want to spend 5 hours on re-paragraphing it.**   
  
Keitaro crested the hill, and looked down at the ground at the bottom of the cliff, 100 metres below. It would be a long fall, true, but he could never fall. He was fine. Pity, it was. He never saw it coming. A truck had lost control, and the driver bailed out, unknowingly sending Keitaro careening over the edge of the cliffside with him. Keitaro hit the ground several seconds later, and blacked out.  
Keitaro opened his eyes to see himself, aged 20, on a screen in front of him. *I never expected the life-flashing-in-front-of-me part to be this literal*, he thought as the lights dimmed, and the screen rolled.  
  
He heard a voice say it would be a short movie, and another say that even though it was short, they hated repeats, especialy when they only added a few days in between each screening. Keitaro was confused as the first scene played. He was at Hinata, he recognized it immediately, but he was a little kid, about five.  
  
He saw himself playing in a sandbox. *I know this scene, but it was all so blurry! Now it's clear, now that I'm dead.*  
  
He saw many things, even though the movie was rather slowish in it's consistency to time. *Maybe Kitsune put it together when she was drunk.*  
  
He saw things he would have loved to have known. He saw people's thoughts, what they would have done about him. He was amazed...things he would have loved to have known about people.  
He almost wanted to tell everyone the way he felt, but he just couldn't, because none of them were wherever he was.  
  
*Brilliant, Keitaro! You went and got yourself killed, and now you can't say good-bye to anybody!*  
  
He had to laugh, though. He really was a clumsy idiot, so it made sense that he would die in a freak accident.  
  
*I guess I'll just have to forget everything that happened.*  
  
The movie reached his high school years, and he saw things he wanted to remember, like his finding out he had graduated, and screaming "I AM A LUCKY BASTARD!!!". That kind of stuff was okay to remember, he guessed.  
  
Then it got to Hinata. Amazingly enough, he even saw certain things about the girls there.  
  
Every time Naru punched him into the stratosphere, he heard her thought of *Why does he always do this?*  
  
He wished again that he could tell her he was sorry, but then he heard it.  
  
The movie had reached his death, and he saw Naru sobbing over his body. He heard her thoughts...all of them.  
  
He had already found his promise girl, he had thought, in Mutsumi. True, he had made the promise to Mutsumi, but now...now, it seemed different.  
  
He smacked himself yet again, for forgetting that he was mortal. There are some things he shouldn't have overlooked.  
  
The movie finished, and everyone stood up. Everyone, that is, except Keitaro. He stayed eated, not wanting to leave his life.  
  
One of the others in the theater, the leader, Keitaro thought, came over and told him to get up. "Come on, kid, it's time to go." Keitaro answered simply, with one word. One word, however, can change men's lives. "No."  
  
"No? Hahaha, kid, you don't make the decisions around here. I do. You can't tell me no. You've been injured before, but this is the first time you've ever gotten this far, so there is no turning back now." Keitaro thought about what the man had said, and answered him with a challenge. "I don't want to die, not now. It can't be my time. If it were my time, Naru wouldn't want me to die. You saw her. You must know how she feels. You can't let me die. If not for me, do it for her."  
  
"Kid, I can't bring you back. I want to, but I can't. You died. Let it be."  
  
"Dammit, who the hell do you think you are? I can't die yet! There is so much I have to do! So many people who I have to let know how I feel. Naru! Look at her! You must know what will happen to her!"  
  
The man nodded, for he had seen the girl known as Narusegawa slit her wrists. She didn't die, but was locked away, forever a patient of a mental ward. The man felt something he had never felt before, and realized it was pity. He pitied this poor kid for being so damned unlucky that he should die because of someone else's stupidity and bad driving. He looked at Keitaro's angered face, and made a decision.  
  
The man, the angel of darkness, laughed. Keitaro blinked once and blacked out. The last thing he heard was, "It's too damn bad he'll never remember. He made me think, and he should be able to remember his courage. But, he can't, except for one thing. That's all I can do."  
  
Keitaro woke up in a hospital bed. He sat up quickly and felt soft hands on his chest, pushing him back down.  
  
"You can't sit up yet. You're still hurt."  
  
Keitaro looked at the owner of the hands, and was slightly shocked to see Naru sitting next to him. The two stared at each other for a minute, until Keitaro heard a oice in the back of her head. All he heard was a gruff voice saying something simple: *Kid, tell her how you feel.*  
  
"Naru...I..."  
  
Narusegawa cut him off with a hug that almost rebroke his back. She stayed with him, for several hours, just talking, about things they had said, and things they hadn't. When Keitaro fell asleep that night, he was sporting a big smile, and a lipstick stain on his cheek. The angel of darkness, Cougar Draven, laughed.  
  
"I knew that kid had it in him. I hope I never have to see him again. 


End file.
